Technical Field
This invention relates to systems for verification of information pertaining to financial instruments and credit transactions, and more specifically to systems using telephonic communications to obtain verification information pertaining to the status of a checking account or a credit account from a central office.
In the prior art there are known various systems of obtaining information concerning checks and/or credit cards, as well as systems of protection of such checking or credit accounts. However, such systems are typically available only for the use of a banking intercommunication network, access thereto being denied to persons and establishments not affiliated therewith.
Such prior art systems utilize direct telephonic connections between electronic computers and system terminals, and provide the desired information directly on screen displays.
There is thus a need in the prior art for systems which can store, transmit, receive and decode information about a check or a credit card for application to specific transactions and for directly imprinting on transaction documents information pertinent to approval of the transaction.